30 Things I've Learned in 30 Years

I took this picture while farting around with the manual settings on my camera in low light.

Hello, blog!! Long time no post, I know. Life has been more than a little crazy, so sadly my creative projects have had to take a backseat to both my job and academic pursuits recently. However, today is my birthday, which means that I have given myself license to basically do whatever the eff I feel like. In this case, whatever I like entails drinking copious coffee baileys, blasting some favorite records (currently "Facelift" by Alice in Chains), and, of course, blogging.

I am turning 30 today. In the weeks and months leading up today, I have been having a not-so-mild existential crisis about this milestone. However, waking up this morning was not as painful as I anticipated. If anything, I feel thankful for my life and the opportunities it has brought with it. In honor of this sentiment, I would like to share 30 things I have learned in 30 years:

1. My paternal grandmother always used to say something to the effect of: "People spend all this time worrying about something that might happen, but then it never actually happens. So they wasted all that time worrying about something that never happened anyway when they could have been thinking about something else." She was not wrong about this.

2. Wash your makeup off before bed. Always.

3. Do not ever let yourself get too angry, lonely, hungry, or tired.

4. There is no shame in admitting wrongdoing or asking for help.

5. You can't control what other people do or say, but you can control your reaction to what they do or say.

6. John Lennon once said: "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." He was not wrong about this.

7. It is important to approach others with kindness. It is equally important not to take anyone's shit.

8. Not everyone is going to like you. And that's OK--you probably don't like them anyway.

9. Some people are meant to follow the basic life formula of go off to college, get a job, get married, and then have 2.5 kids and a house in the 'burbs. And that's amazing! Other people are meant to do things a little bit differently. At 30, I am finally OK with falling into the latter category--in fact, I now acknowledge that I would not be happy otherwise.

10. People are always going to try to put other people into a box/label them as being a certain "category" of person. I have never fit neatly into one of these categories, and that is OK. No one really does anyway. We are people, not objects.

11. Know your strengths, but know your weaknesses as well. This gives you a realistic starting point for setting and completing goals.

12. Quality is way more important than quantity. This goes for friends, handbags, shoes, bottles of wine--pretty much anything.

13. If you're going to invest in your wardrobe, invest in good quality bags and shoes.

14. Always listen to your gut. It usually isn't wrong.

15. Embrace all aspects of your background, no matter how conflicting they may be. They are all a part of who you are.

16. If you harp too much on the potential for something negative to happen, you will likely wind up manifesting a self-fulfilling prophecy. So focus instead on what you want to happen rather than what you're afraid will happen.

17. RuPaul once said: "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love anybody else?" She was not wrong about this.

18. The value of experiences appreciates. The value of things depreciates (for the most part).

22. Take good care of your skin and don't get too much sun. And stay out of tanning beds (so glad I quit them in my mid-20s!).

23. Know when to call it quits--on a night out, in a poker game, on a workout, on a relationship, on a job...This applies to pretty much anything, really.

24. If you have the chance to see a favorite artist perform live, GO!

25. Take advantage of any opportunity to spend time with loved ones, and enjoy every moment of it.

26. Sometimes, you need to get yourself together and get shit done, even if everything seems overwhelming and impossible. Other times, you need to stop and let yourself breathe before taking on new tasks. There is a delicate balance between these two--find it.

27. Don't skimp on your health, your skincare, or your bedding.

28. Don't buy something just because it is on sale, you need an item loosely meeting that description, etc. Only buy it because you love it and/or really need it (and sometimes really loving the item means you really need it).

29. An old, southern woman on the Maury show once said: "Men are like busses. You miss one, you catch the next one, honey." She was not wrong about this.

30. You are only as old as you feel. Cliche but very, very true. I feel younger today at 30 than I did at 25!

So concludes my 30 nuggets of wisdom obtained in 30 years. I am still relatively young in the grand scheme of things, so there is likely a great deal of wisdom still to be obtained.

On that note--I am off to continue my day. Starbucks and some Mexican food are on the menu before tonights party, and I am super excited!

1 comment
:

Thanks for sharing your wisdom, I think I can say I agree on every single point. Happy birthday darling, wish I could come and celebrate you tonight, but I'm sending lots of warm thoughts from India! Hugs, Eva

Norwegian-American or American-Norwegian, depending on the relevant mood or side of the Atlantic. M. Sc. graduate and economics student by day. Sarcastic, low-key diva and lover of shiny things by night.